Selectboard Meeting Minutes Draft 24 October 2016

The Town of Brookfield

Selectboard Meeting

24 October 2016 at 7:00 PM

 Town Clerk’s Office

Draft Meeting Minutes

Present: John Benson, Cory Haggett, Jeff Kimmel, Ray Peck (Road Foreman), Ginny Brees (Auditor), Brenda Flint (Auditor), Daniel Schmidt, Larry LaQuerre, Kasey Peterson (Administrative Assistant) 

1. Call to Order: 6:59

 

2. Adjustments to Agenda: Auditors Ginny Brees and Brenda Flint were present to discuss bank statement reconciliation. An outside audit was done by Fothergill, Segale, and Valley for the financial records up to the end of Fiscal Year 2015 ending on 30 June 2015. One of the recommendations included with the audit report was that the Town auditors manually reconcile the accounts after Assistant Town Treasurer Kasey Peterson is finished with the electronic reconciliation. While electronic reconciliations are balancing correctly, manual reconciliations on randomly chosen months between July 2015 and the present will not balance. The amounts are large and not always the same.

 The auditors requested that Melanie Rodjenski, from Fothergill, Segale, and Valley be hired, at a rate of $150 per hour, to find the error and help the Town fix it; it is difficult to be in the office doing this kind of work when the office is open and Town Treasurer Teresa Godfrey is willing to help resolve the issue but is extremely busy right now between tax time and the upcoming election. The auditors feel that the problem needs to be resolved immediately. Ms. Flint will discuss the matter with Ms. Godfrey. Ms. Brees will contact Ms. Rodjenski to find out how long the project might take.

Ms. Brees also expressed a concern about Ms. Peterson working down at the garage and how that might affect the security of the town’s financial records. Mr. Benson assured the auditors that the only records that will be kept at the garage will be highway training, safety, and inventory paperwork.

Ms. Brees also inquired about the Selectboard Meeting Minutes from July 25th that have not yet been posted to the Town’s website. Mrs. Peterson will discuss the matter with Mr. Kimmel and try to find and post the missing document as soon as possible.  

 

3. Public Presentation or Comment:
4. Daniel Schmidt was present for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps grant to improve water quality. This project covers Class 4 road projects with the goal of improving drainage to and water quality of streams, particularly those that run alongside the roadways. Taylor Hill Road is one of the roads that may be eligible for this grant. The Conservation Corps asked for support from the Board for the grant application. Mr. Schmidt described some of the solutions for Taylor Hill. Mr. Benson asked that the residents on Taylor Hill be informed about the project and asked if a road in West Brookfield could be added to the grant. Mr. Schmidt explained how that might be possible. Mr. Schmidt provided a letter for the Board to sign if they were in support of the project. Mr. Kimmel made a motion to sign the letter in support of the project, Mr. Haggett seconded. 3-0-0

 

1. Mr. LaQuerre asked to have a speed limit sign installed on Old Stage Road. Mr. Benson explained that a speed limit sign would require revising the Town ordinance. The Public Safety Committee is currently working on a list of all the roads in Brookfield and the recommended changes. Ideally one ordinance will cover every road in Town.

 

4. Old Business
5. Mr. Benson made a motion to approve the minutes of the 10 October meeting. Mr. Haggett seconded. Mr. Kimmel recused himself from the vote as he was the recorder of that meeting. 2-0-1

 

5. New Business
6. Highway Report
7. Ms. Brees expressed serious concerns about the dust from the resurfacing work on VT Route 65. Since the beginning of the project the dust has been so bad that she was unable to use her front or back porch, she was unable to paint the front of her house, and her solar panels are not working as efficiently due to the dust. Mr. Benson sent a letter to John Herrington at VTrans asking about the status of the road. The lead engineer on the project will be contacting Mr. Peck. Tom Anderson from VTrans has told Mr. Peck that the road is slated to be graded, rolled and chlorided. But the contractor has told Mr. Peck that they are done and have signed off on the project. Mr. Peck expressed concern with winter maintenance. Mr. Benson will contact Mr. Herrington again.
8. Ms. Flint tore three tires on Churchill Road because of the rocks when the new material was added to the road. Purchase of a roller was discussed.
9. Davis Acre Road – Mr. Peck measured from the intersection with Cram Hill Road to the old Davis Acre farm, now owned by the Wakefields, at 0.5 mile. There is an 18 inch culvert there that is crushed and must be replaced. The Board continued discussion about the appropriate classification for the road.  
10. Town Garage Office addition: concrete work needs to be done immediately if the project is to be done this year. Mr. Peck will begin prepping the site on October 25^th.
11. Reclassification of Old Stage Road Findings were signed and are ready to be sent to VTrans.
12. Mr. Haggett spoke to Rick Brown at Vermont Technical College about hiring students for seasonal help. He is interested in coming to a Selectboard meeting and discussing the idea.
13. Orange County Sheriff Dept. Invoice – Mrs. Peterson needed clarification on the amount of the invoice due to a clerical error on the September invoice. That invoice will be paid with a two hour deduction as agreed upon by the Sheriff and the Public Safety Committee.

 

6. Payroll/AP Warrant
7. Mr. Haggett made a motion to pay the Warrants in the amount of $208,538.50. This included the Pike invoice for $175,145.84 and R.E. Tucker invoices for $14,183.40 and $7,390.20. Mr. Benson seconded. 3-0-0

 

7. At 9:00 p.m. Mr. Kimmel motioned to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Haggett seconded. 3-0-0 

 

Respectfully Submitted

Kasey Peterson